Damage Control
by Fluent in Fitz
Summary: Olivia and Fitz are involved in a secret no-strings-attached relationship. An arrangement that is beneficial to both. However, they're at different stages in their lives. Olivia already did the whole marriage thing and it ended badly. All she wants now is a fling. Fitz, on the other hand, wants more than she's willing to give. Conflict arises and the two must decide what they want.
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to Olivia Pope & Associates, a small crisis management firm located in Washington D.C., consisted of ten associates dubbed gladiators in suits and one Olivia Pope... _the_ Olivia Pope.

Worn dress shirts taken off and fresh ones put on, a deodorant stick tossed around, words muffled by toothpaste suds and toothbrushes dangling out of the side of mouths, coffee brewing, faces being stuffed with bagels, muffins, and any other appropriate breakfast foods…a typical morning at the office after pulling an all nighter.

The gladiators were now ready to well...gladiate. All ten of them. Fortunately for most of them, they didn't have spouses or children, so working as many hours as they did had no effect on their personal lives. Huck was the only one who had a wife and child, but they were used to the separation. See, Huck served in the Marines. Thankfully, his time spent overseas did not break his family, so working at OPA was not a threat to his marriage at all.

Quinn Perkins and Charlie were a steady couple. No problems there except for a few lover quarrels here and there.

Abigail "Abby" Whelan was in a predicament. She was caught in the middle of a love triangle between her, Stephen Finch, and David Rosen. She and Stephen hooked up on several occasions, but nothing more developed from that due to the fact that Stephen was a player. Abby was in love with him, but refused to put her heart out there only for him to kick it around like a soccer ball. After learning Stephen was in a serious relationship with a schoolteacher named Georgia; Abby started dating David. Since then they had been on and off. While they were off, her and Stephen were on. Yeah, there was a lot of drama there.

Olivia would've banned all of them from being romantically involved if it wasn't so damn convenient.

Harrison and Marcus were very single and liked to mingle. In other words…they were manwhores. When they weren't working, the debonair duo were out clubbing and hooking up with randoms.

Angela was desperate, however, she purposely made herself unavailable to any man who wasn't Fitz. If only she had the courage to tell him how she felt about him.

And Fitz...well...Fitz was currently on his knees, being smothered by two magical thighs (belonging to his very under-dressed boss) wrapped around his head that was buried in between them. He pried Olivia's legs back open, so they were dangling over the arms of her chair and she was fully exposed to him. She threw her head back and a moan escaped her lips.

They were alone. The others were out doing their jobs, while Fitz and Olivia stayed back, doing each other. They wasted no time either.

Her squirming and thrashing in her chair were signs she was close. Fitz stared up at her through hooded eyelids. Her eyes were squeezed shut. He knew she didn't like making eye contact when they had intercourse. She said it was too intimate, too personal. He thought that was complete and utter bullshit, but who was he to argue with the woman who employed him. Instead, he did what she wanted him to...he brought her to a leg shaking, toe curling, back arching orgasm. Olivia was a squirter, so every time she came it was like she sprung a leak. Fitz, to the best of his ability, used his tongue to absorb as much of her essence as possible in an attempt to avoid a potential flood from occurring.

He let her recuperate while he unbuttoned his shirt and unbuckled his pants, pushing them along with his boxers down until they fell around his ankles. Fitz stood up and pulled Olivia into his arms. He lifted her up and placed her on top of her desk, not before swiping the contents on it off first. He pushed her flat on her back and aligned his tip up to her entrance. He pushed inside of her inch by inch as her walls accommodated his girth. He palmed her breast. Slowly, back and forth, in and out. As he stretched her out, his movements became more fluent.

"Harder." Olivia panted.

Fitz didn't need to be told twice. He hooked his arms in the bend of her knees and pulled her closer to him. His pace quickened. He threw her legs over his shoulders and leaned over her, burying himself balls deep. Although they'd been together more times than they could keep count, Olivia still had to get used to his length every time. This time was no different. She pushed his hips away as her way of telling him it was too much, he was too deep.

"Take it." Fitz growled.

She might've been his boss, but when they were in the throes of passion, he was her boss...or so he thought...at least he tried to be. Olivia wasn't the type to be submissive. She was a dominant. She had to be in charge of everything. Either it was her way or no way.

Again she pushed against his hips and raised hers to make it difficult for him to continue fucking her. Fitz exhaled deeply and stood back up. He grabbed Olivia by the hips and pulled her back to him. He used one hand to fist his manhood. He rubbed it up and down her slippery slit before filling her back up. Fitz showed no mercy as he boned her right there on her desk. Olivia's arms were thrown over her head while her hands gripped the edge of the dark wood bureau. Her titties bounced uncontrollably.

The sounds of moans and skin slapping, reverberated off the walls in the office. Fitz knew Olivia was close from the way her slick channel tightened around him. Fitz wasn't ready to cum yet. He pulled out of her.

"Fitz, what are yo-"

Before she could finish asking him what he was doing, he had flipped her over on all fours. Fitz positioned her like the saying went...face down, ass up. Both of her knees were placed on top of her desk. Her legs were spread wide apart. Fitz grabbed a hold of her hips and rammed right back into her. He immediately went to work, pounding her pussy. Olivia was sure there were going to be fingerprint marks on her hips due to the vice grip Fitz had on them. She didn't mind though, she liked it rough. Rough equaled fucking and fucking equaled not love making.

At the age of twenty-eight Fitz prided himself on his dedication to working out regulalrly and keeping his body in shape and even though he had good stamina, it had to run out sometime. That time was right about...now. An out of breath Fitz, collapsed in Olivia's chair. Olivia turned around to see why he stopped. He didn't give her an explanation. Instead he told her as he stroked his cock:

"Ride me."

Olivia turned over and scooted off of her desk. The way Fitz was sitting with his shirt wide open, masturbating, staring at her with lust glazed eyes - Olivia wanted so badly to drop to her knees and suck the soul out of him. Unfortunately, she didn't know how much time they had. She assumed not much. Anyone at anytime could walk in and catch them in the very compromising position they were in. That thought alone made her high off of adrenaline and clouded her better judgement.

Fitz held his dick, while Olivia lowered herself onto it. She gasped at the contact.

"Shit." Fitz cursed underneath his breath.

Olivia held onto the back of her chair for leverage as she moved slowly up and down his rigid shaft. She swore she was seeing stars. Something that usually occurred when she rode on his rocket ship. Palming her luscious globes, Fitz assisted her. Her movements alternated between grinding (back and forth) and bouncing (up and down). The entire time, her head was thrown back. Fitz didn't seem to notice because his attention was elsewhere. He was watching Olivia make his magic stick disappear and reappear.

Neither of them wanted to rush their session, it felt too good to stop, but it was also called a quickie for a reason. If they wanted to be sexually satisfied and not get caught, they needed to make their quickie quick. Fitz's hands held Olivia's hips still. He slid further down in the chair until his ass was barely on the seat of it. He slammed into her. His thrust were hard and fast. It didn't take long for either of them to be on the brink of ecstasy. A few more powerful thrusts later Olivia let out a guttural cry as her silky walls convulsed around Fitz's cock, bringing him to combustion with her.

Olivia's body fell limp against Fitz's light perspired one. They both were breathing heavy. They could hear the thuds of their heartbeats pumping at an outstanding rate. Their throats burned from lack of hydration.

"You okay?" Fitz asked, rubbing Olivia's back.

Olivia flinched at his touch not because he was hurting her or she was afraid he would hurt her, but for the opposite reason. Him soothing her was against the rules she instated. Dammit Fitz. He always had to ruin the moment. Instead of answering him, Olivia pushed off his body and stood up on wobbly legs that almost gave out on her. Having the quick reflexes he did, Fitz reached out and held her steady.

"I don't need your help." Olivia said harsher than she meant to and shoved his hands away.

Fitz ran a frustrated hand through his mess of damp chocolate curls. He was used to her coldness towards him, but that didn't mean he was immune to it. He was taken aback by her sudden change in mood the first time they had sex over a year ago. He thought he'd done something wrong. To see her transform the way he did before his very eyes was disconcerting. Every time after that was no different. It was, however, irritating as hell.

Wordlessly, they got cleaned up and dressed. Words were never exchanged post coitus regarding their relationship because that was it… they weren't in one. They were more in an arrangement or agreement or something along those lines. Fitz's phone ringing spared him yet another awkward departure. He was never more thankful for such an interruption. He reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone. He checked the caller ID. It was Harrison. Hitting accept, he put the device to his ear.

"What's up?" He asked.

"We need you to bring five hundred dollars." He heard an unfamiliar muffled masculine voice in the background. "And a large pizza with pepperoni and anchovies stat." Fitz could vividly imagine Harrison rolling his eyes.

"Is that all?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can."

The men ended the call. Fitz turned to catch Olivia staring at him curiously.

"Who was that?"

"Harrison. The security guard needs payment in order for us to receive the footage."

Olivia rolled her eyes, "Of course he does. How much?"

"Five hundred dollars and a pie."

"Pizza?"

Fitz nodded, "Yup."

"Okay, well get the man what he wants." Olivia commanded him, taking a seat behind her desk.

"Sure thing…boss."

Fitz turned on his heels and left, unapologetic for the jab he just took at her. He couldn't help himself. They never did part on good terms.

Sometimes he wondered why he kept going back to Olivia. It wasn't because he was just attracted to her. There was not enough beauty in the world to let him keep allowing Olivia to hurt him. It wasn't just the sex either. Olivia was the best he'd ever had, but then again there were a lot of women in the world that he hadn't been with and he didn't even put a dent in them despite the fact that he ran through a lot of them during his late teens and early twenties.

Fitz came from a broken home. His dad became a deadbeat after he abandoned his family for a younger woman, leaving his mom to raise him and his older sister Karen by herself. Fitz never had the fortune to see what true love looked like. He wasn't sure he ever would. That didn't discourage him though. He was a closeted hopeless romantic. His hoe period was a phase that he was long over. He was approaching thirty and was ready to settle down. He wanted to settle down with Olivia. He didn't care she was ten years his senior. He didn't care she was a divorcee. He didn't care she was a mother of two. He didn't care about any of that. He wanted her, only her.

He was her biggest fan. Fitz followed her career before he started working for her. He admired her for various reasons. The main one being her grit. Although she wasn't a big dog she could easily outrun the big dogs. They were no match for her. She was small and very mighty. She could bring the most powerful person in the world to their knees. That he knew because he witnessed her do it firsthand. He loved Olivia's self-assurance. People often had a tendency to underestimate her and it entertained him to watch her make them regret their prenotions about her. Although she was a cute teacup Maltipoo, she could and would still bite a hand…off.

Olivia sighed, watching Fitz's retreating form walk out her office. She too wondered why she kept screwing him. It was obvious he had some kind of feelings for her. She just didn't know to what extent. If she'd known that he wasn't capable of having meaningless sex, she wouldn't have taken off her clothes for him…or had him take off his clothes for her. Olivia shook her head back into the game. She had work to do and a business to run. She couldn't just sit around and think about a guy who was crushing on her. The lives and reputations of Washington's elite depended on her.

* * *

"Do you have the security footage?" Olivia asked her team as soon as they walked through the door.

Abby held up the disk that held what they needed.

"Right here."

"Good, what did it show?"

Harrison interjected, "You might want to take a look for yourself."

Uh oh.

"Huck."

Olivia gestured for him to do the honors. He nodded obediently and took the disk from Abby. He led the rest of them into the conference room where he popped the disk into his laptop. He fast forwarded the surveillance video until he reached the only part of it that mattered. Olivia gasped.

* * *

Quick strides. Heels pounding against the concrete floor. An eager Olivia Pope strutted down the hallway of the precinct with Fitz behind her. His long legs struggled to keep up with her much shorter ones.

She practically broke through the bars of the holding cell where Colonel Sullivan "Sully" St. James was being detained, before the guard could unlock it. Sully's face raised from his hands. He sat up straight when he saw Olivia and one of her associates.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Did you honestly think because the district attorney arrested you before we could find evidence to prove your innocence, you were no longer my client?"

He didn't say anything. Olivia turned to Fitz.

"I can handle this alone."

Fitz lingered for a second. He looked from her to Sully and back at her. "I'll be right out here if you need me." He told her before he exited the cell.

"What's going on?"

"My team was able to verify your alibi."

Sully should've been happy, thrilled, elated, relieved even but he wasn't. The look on Olivia's face made him wary.

"You were? That's good...right?"

Olivia ignored his question.

"Sully, you're the most decorated soldier since the Vietnam War. You come from a family of soldiers. You make your living giving speeches for the conservative right. And you've said it over and over again: Paige was your best friend. Not your lover. Your best friend."

Sully wasn't following her. Olivia pulled the surveillance video up on her phone to show him just what she was talking about. She turned to him, gauging his reaction but he wasn't even watching it. He was staring into space. He didn't want to watch it.

"Coming from the background you come from, being who you are, being a gay soldier isn't something you feel you can tell anyone. But Paige knew…didn't she? She was your best friend. She knew you were gay, the two of you had a deal."

"You can't show this to anyone." He said, refusing to confirm or deny her conclusion.

He didn't feel the need to. They both knew it was true.

"I need the name of the man you were kissing."

Sully, on the verge of jumping off the bridge, "You can't show this to anyone, you can't have a name."

Olivia tried talking him down.

"It's your alibi."

He shook his head. One foot was dangling off the ledge. "No. I'm not…you can't tell people I'm gay. I'm a war hero."

"You've been arrested for a heinous crime you didn't commit. With all due respect, people finding out you're gay is no big deal compared to that."

Sully stood up and paced the floor.

"No." He was intense, insistent. "I'm a hero. I honor the uniform." He declared evenly.

"Sully-" Olivia tried, standing up.

"I HONOR THE UNIFORM!" He yelled in her face.

"Take it easy!" They heard the guard say.

Olivia looked over at Fitz who was about to enter the cell again but stopped when she shook her head, silently telling him to stay put. Sully sat back down. Olivia followed suit.

"Sully, look at me." She waited until he did. "The rules have changed. Don't ask, don't tell is over."

He spoke low and calm. Not the tranquil calm but the calm before the storm calm.

"That's just talk. I'm a conservative Republican. I'm publicly anti-gay. I'm a deacon at my church. They're talking about running me for Congress one day. I am Lieutenant Colonel Sullivan St. James. I am a hero. I cannot be gay."

"Come on, Sully."

Sully hesitated. "No."

Olivia sighed defeatedly and made her leave. She walked right passed Fitz without so much a glance in his direction. Instead of following her, he decided to try to talk some sense into Sully.

"My mind's already made up." Sully stated with finality.

"Is it?" Fitz challenged him from across the cell. He was leaning against the steel bars with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

Fitz took his silence as his que to continue.

"I don't understand how you can say you honor the uniform yet you are willing to tarnish not only said uniform but also your name, your family's name, your legacy by taking the rap for something you didn't do to avoid coming out of the closet."

"You don't understand."

Fitz pushed off the bars and walked closer to the other man.

"Whoever he is…you love him. You've been living with a secret for a long time. I know what that's like. Believe me, I honestly do. And you think you're doing it for the right reasons. You think you're doing it for your country and for the people who look up to you. But the thing is…who you are…who you love, that shouldn't be a secret. It shouldn't have to be a secret. It's not fair to you and it's definitely not fair to him. You have an opportunity to stand in your truth. Be the man you really are out in the open with the man you are in love with but you are willing to give that up because you're afraid and ashamed of your sexuality. The Sully St. James I heard and read about is supposed to be brave. If you allow yourself to be wrongly convicted of a crime you and I both know you didn't do, you'll be nothing more than a coward who will more than likely spend the rest of his life in imprisonment without parole. A murderous coward, is that what you want to be remembered as? Or do you want to be remembered as a gay honorable war hero?"

A long beat passed. Fitz was about to give up when Sully stopped him with his words.

"John Latimer. That's his name. And you're right…I do…love him." Sully had to admit his admission felt like a load had been lifted off of his shoulders. He imagined he would feel ten times better than he currently did once he told the world he was into men. "Can you tell Olivia that for me?"

"I'll let her know."

* * *

Olivia Pope and her associates, minus one, stood around the table in the conference room watching Sully give a press conference.

"I am honored to have served my country. I am honored to have been injured serving my country. And most importantly...I am gay."

"The other soldiers are a nice touch, don't you think?" Abby asked Stephen.

He looked at her and smiled. He was proud of her.

"You have good ideas."

He threw his arm over her shoulder. Abby subtly breathed him in. They were off at the moment, but that didn't mean they weren't cordial. Fortunately for them, David wasn't around to witness the exchange. Unfortunately for him, he was at home, fighting a cold. He was the gladiator missing.

Olivia flicked the television off and turned to her team.

"You guys did a great job today. Now get outta here and enjoy the rest of your evening. You all deserve it."

They weren't going to object to that. They all eagerly gathered their belongings and headed for the door. Fitz slung his briefcase over his shoulder and was about to leave when Olivia stopped him.

"Hey." She spoke softly.

He stopped and gave her his attention. He was still annoyed with her from earlier, but that didn't mean he wasn't able to remain professional. He could separate business from pleasure.

"Thanks for getting Sully to change his mind. I don't what you said to him but whatever you did, it worked." She continued.

"I told him what he needed to hear, that's all." He responded flatly before turning to leave only for Olivia to stop him again.

"So...what are you doing tonight?"

He shrugged.

"Marcus and Harrison invited me to The Lounge. I'm kinda tired but I think I'm gonna take them up on their offer. It's been a while since I went out for drinks with the guys."

"Oh." Was all she said.

"Yeah…"

They stood in awkward silence for a minute before Olivia broke it.

"Do you wanna maybe come over for a bit when you're done hanging out with the guys?" She asked.

She knew she shouldn't have. They weren't really on the best terms right now and she could've used that to her advantage. She could go out to a club and find another guy to screw her six ways to Sunday. However, that seemed like just as work as dealing with Fitz or maybe even more.

"I don't know. Maybe. It depends on how long I stay out and how I feel afterwards."

Olivia nodded. She could accept that. Rejection was huge pill she wasn't used to swallowing, however, she'd rather swallow that than her pride.

"Okay, well I'll see you later...or tomorrow."

"Uh huh."

With that he left. He made a quick pit stop at his apartment to shower and change out of his work clothes into more casual ones. Instead of wearing a suit, he wore a fitted black tee and black pants. Since the night air was a little brisk, he threw on a tan leather jacket that matched his tan leather boots. He spent a total of twenty minutes tops there before he was back out the door.

"Aye, look who actually decided to showed up!" Marcus announced as Fitz approached the bar, he and Harrison were sitting at.

He took a seat between them. The bartender immediately tended to him. He asked her for a short beer. He didn't intend on drinking too much. That's why he drove his car there instead of taking an Uber.

"Man, I'm not gonna lie, I didn't think you were gonna come." Harrison told Fitz, clapping him on the back.

Fitz took a swig of his beverage.

"Why'd you think that?"

"Because everytime we invite you out, you always come up with some lame ass excuse as to why you can't."

"They're not excuses, they're reasons and the truth." Fitz tried to argue, however his argument fell on deaf ears.

Harrison waved him off dismissively.

"Same difference. The most important thing is I got my wingman back."

"Wait." Marcus interjected. "I thought I was your wingman."

"You are but Fitz is a better one. He acts uninterested and for some reason that makes women fawn over him. Bruh doesn't even have to say or do anything. All he has to do is sit there, act and sip on his drink."

"It's not an act. Fitz has a girlfriend." Marcus revealed.

Fitz almost spit out his drink. This was obviously news to him. Yeah, there was someone in his life, but she wasn't his girlfriend. They were casually"seeing" each other. Not even. That was an overstatement. They were fucking. That was it. Plain and simple. Nothing more, nothing less, although Fitz wanted to change that. He wanted more. He wondered if Marcus knew the woman he was involved with was Olivia. Nah, he couldn't have or else he would've hinted at her identity.

Harrison was caught off guard as well.

"What? Is that true?"

"No. I do not have a girlfriend."

"But he's definitely seeing someone."

"How do you figure?"

"His body language gives him away. He seems...I don't know...too relaxed to not being getting some on a regular basis."

"You study my body language? That's creepy." Fitz cut in, attempting to change the subject.

It didn't work. He should've known better.

"No, I'm just good at reading people. All I'm saying is that you never come out with us anymore and when you do it's rare so either you're seeing someone, your dick's broken or your batting for the same time and afraid to come out of the dugout. If that's the case, you can tell us. We won't consider you any less of a man."

Harrison added, "Unless you're the one on the bottom."

"Guys, I can assure you I'm not in relationship and I'm definitely not gay not that there's anything wrong with that but I still very much prefer women. I just don't enjoy their company as much as I did four years ago. I mean aren't you guys tired of sleeping with strangers and waking up to them not remembering what you did the night before?"

Marcus and Harrison share a brief look.

"No." They responded simultaneously.

Fitz rolled his eyes. Of course they didn't.

"Well I am. Especially after the whole Mellie ordeal."

"Mellie's the one that slashed your tires?" Harrison asked.

He vaguely remembered Fitz and Marcus telling him about Mellie a while back, but he didn't remember who she was other than one of Fitz's scorned conquests. Marcus and Fitz both attended Harvard where they first met and became close friends. Marcus witnessed some of Fitz's craziest experiences. Mellie being one of them. He also helped Fitz get through those troubled times in his life.

Marcus corrected him.

"Nah that was Tiffany. Mellie was the one who got pregnant and claimed Fitz was her baby's father."

"Oh yeah and you found out the kid wasn't yours when he was like four, right?"

Fitz took another sip from the sweating bottle. Maybe he should've ordered something stronger. He would've had he known they were going to discuss this.

"Yep. Mellie was playing way too many games for me to believe I was the father of her child. First, she told me she was pregnant and the baby was mine but she wanted to have abortion. She told me she had the abortion and after that I didn't hear from her. Then almost a year later, when the baby was a few months old, she showed up at my job, demanding I take care of my responsibility or else she would take me to court for child support. She used him to hurt me. When I wanted to spend time with him, she would come up with excuses why I couldn't see him. Her family would cover for her. That went on like that for four years. Eventually I had enough. When I had him one day, I swabbed his mouth with a Q-tip and took it to clinic for a DNA test. Two weeks later, the results came in and just as I thought, he wasn't my son. I threw the papers in Mellie's face and told her to never contact me again. I sat Lyle down and explained to him that I wasn't his father and kissed him goodbye before I left. When I got to my sister's house that night, I broke down. I mean really broke down in a way I had never before. I was drunk and and a mess. It really broke my heart that he wasn't my son. I loved that little boy like he was mine."

Harrison blew out a breath. That was a lot to take in.

"Damn man. That's...rough."

Fitz shrugged. "Shit happens."

"What happened after that? Did she try to get in touch with you?"

"Oh you already know she did. She and her mom went on Facebook slandering my name, calling me a deadbeat and harassing me. I had to get the court to issue a PFA against her after she vandalized my car."

"It seems like you car bore the brunt of your failed relationships."

"That's accurate." Marcus chimed in. "Then there was Miranda who was by far the worst even worse than Mellie and that says a lot. She and Fitz dated for a month before she started to show the symptoms of her level of crazy."

"You're lying." Harrison said in disbelief.

"I'm not."

"He's not." Fitz seconded, cringing just at the mere thought of that deranged broad. "She was extremely clingy and paranoid. She swore up and down that I was cheating on her."

"Were you?"

"Well…yes...no." He admitted sheepishly. Blush rising in his cheeks.

"Yes or no?"

"It's complicated."

"That's such a cop out."

"I know. Truth is I didn't cheat on her. I was faithful for the entire month we were together but when she started going batshit crazy I dumped her ass and moved on to the next. She wasn't over me. She figured if she couldn't have me then no one could. Girls were afraid to go out with me because she would threaten them. She stalked me and whoever I was associated with. She made my life a living hell. She was admitted into a psych ward for seventy-two hours after threatening to kill me in my sleep and then herself. She actually held a knife to my throat. I also had to get PFA against her. It's safe to say I've learned my lesson. Now I'm a lot more careful with the female company I keep."

Harrison was speechless. He didn't know what to say. He finally understood why Fitz was very selective about the women he entertained. He would be too after enduring what Fitz did. He flagged the bartender down.

"Can you bring my friend here something much stronger than what he's having?"

"Sure. Anything in particular?"

"A scotch neat please." Fitz requested.

The bartender nodded.

"Coming right up."

"Thanks."

"Have you ever thought about hooking up with Angela?" Marcus questioned Fitz as his tumbler of scotch was set in front of him.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because she's not his type." Harrison assumed.

"That's not it. I don't really have a type."

"Except crazy." Harrison stated.

Fitz shot him a look. He raised his hands up in surrender.

"As I was saying, I don't have a type. I just don't want to look at Angela like that. Don't get me wrong, I think she's very attractive. She's gorgeous and intelligent and bold but she's also a coworker. If I didn't work with her I could totally see myself with her but I'm not trying to take that kind of risk. Business and pleasure don't make a good concoction."

That much he knew. Of course he was lying through his teeth. Or was he? He said he couldn't get involved with someone he worked with, not for. He didn't work with Olivia Pope, he worked for her. Had he not caught feelings for Olivia, he would've probably already asked Angela out. His life would be simpler and a lot less lonely.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He pulled it out just enough to discreetly check the caller ID. Olivia. She was calling him. He debated whether or not to answer it. He chose the latter and slipped the slim device back in his pocket. He tried to focus on the conversation Harrison and Marcus were having about the upcoming football season. It was hard with Olivia blowing up his phone. She called him five times and each time he ignored it. His phone again went off, buzzing twice, indicating an incoming text message. He pulled it out just enough to read the message.

 **Olivia: Hey**

He thought about responding, but decided against it. He didn't want to see her tonight. She got what she wanted from him earlier. He was getting fed up with her games. She was bored and alone at home and wanted him to come over to scratch an itch she was more than capable of scratching herself. She texted him again. This time he didn't even bother looking at it. He'd already made up his mind what he was doing tonight and she wasn't it.

He finished his drink and ordered another. Tonight was guys' night out and he wasn't going to allow her to get to him. No more. He was tired of running back to her only for her to push him away after she used him.

* * *

Olivia tossed her phone next to her on the couch with a huff. She'd been trying to call Fitz for the past half hour, but he wasn't picking up. She shot him a couple texts that went unanswered and to her knowledge, unread. She was sexually frustrated despite being dicked down by him in her office earlier. She was also bored and lonely.

She had no one to call or talk to. No parents, no siblings, no relatives, no friends, nothing. She used to consider her gladiators friends before they started working for her. Now it felt weird to socialize with them outside of the office unless it was work related. Her kids were with their father, so the house was empty and quiet...too quiet. The silence was deafening and it was driving Olivia mad. Nights like this reminded Olivia how sad her life was.

She gave up on trying to contact Fitz. She got the hint. He didn't want to be bothered, at least by her. She stared at her mute television screen for a while. She wasn't paying attention to what it was showing. She just stared at it blankly. The sound of her phone ringing snapped her out of her daze. She reached over and grabbed it. Curtis Pryce was requesting to FaceTime her. She knew it wasn't actually her ex-husband, it was her children calling to wish her a goodnight. She swiped right on the bar at the bottom of the screen and waited for the call to connect. Seconds later she was met with two beautiful smiling faces.

"Hi mommy!"

"Hi my babies. How are you guys doing? Are you having a good time at daddy's?"

Christian, her four year old son and oldest child, spoke for both himself and his baby sister, Ava, sitting beside him.

"Yeah, daddy took us to the zoo."

"Oh yeah? Did you guys have fun?"

He nodded his head. "Uh huh. I got to feed the giraffe and pet him."

"No way!" Olivia feigned surprise, making her little man more excited.

"Way!" He replied. His bright smiled turned into a frown as his sister tried to pry the iPad out of his hands. "No Ava, you can't hold it. You're too little."

Tears welled in her eyes. She didn't like being denied anything.

"Be nice, buddy. She can hold it, just help her."

Olivia heard her ex say in the background.

"But daddy she's too little. She'll break it."

"That's why you're gonna help her." Curtis explained.

"Okay." He pouted.

He did it, but he wasn't happy about it.

"Hi mommy." Two year old Ava said, taking the tablet out of her brother's hands.

"Hi sweetheart. Are you getting on your big brother's nerves?"

"No." She giggled.

"Yes." Christian sighed exaggeratedly.

Olivia laughed at their antics.

"Okay you two, that's enough. It is way passed your bedtimes. Say night to mommy so you can go to bed." Curtis intervened.

"Night mommy!"

They waved to her.

"Night my loves."

She blew both of them kisses and Curtis took the tablet from them.

"Night Liv."

"Night."

The call was disconnected and Olivia was once again left alone. She figured she would go to bed since she had nothing better to do. She turned the TV off and all of the lights before heading to her bedroom. She spent a whole hour and a half tossing and turning, urging her body sleep, however, her mind refused to let that happen. It kept thinking about Fitz. Olivia wondered what he was doing and who he was doing it with. She wondered if he was still at The Lounge with Marcus and Harrison or at home and if he was, if he had company. That last thought was the reason she got out of bed and headed straight for his place in nothing, but a short silk white slip hidden underneath the matching robe and a pair of white pumps.

She parked her car in the empty space next to his gray Mercedes Benz-CLS Coupe. She didn't him expect to be home at 11:53 p.m. Maybe he really did leave The Lounge early because he brought a woman back with him. Olivia was now regretting going over there. However, curiosity got the better of her. She exited her Audi Q7 SUV. She tested the hood of Fitz's car with the back of her hand. It was warm. He hadn't been home too long. Maybe she could end his "activities" before they started.

Olivia quickly made her way inside his building. She was greeted by the doorman, Jeffrey who she was familiar with and vice versa. Olivia got on the elevator and pressed the button that took her to the floor his apartment was on. She delivered three swift knocks to his door. As she waited for a response, she squared her shoulders and held her head high. She didn't have to wait long before she heard him unlocking his door. Not even a second later, the door swung open, revealing a groggy and slightly disoriented Fitz. He was dressed in a white t-shirt and a pair of blue basketball shorts. He was shocked to see Olivia standing outside of his apartment clad in her sexy nightwear. He thought he was dreaming. He had to rub his eyes to make sure he wasn't still asleep.

Olivia was relieved to know Fitz had been sleeping and not getting his rocks off with some other bitch. She was the first to speak.

"Hi."

Still shocked by her presence, Fitz cleared his throat.

"Hi."


	2. Chapter 2

"You shouldn't be here." Fitz told her after his initial shock wore off.

"Aren't you gonna invite me in?" Olivia asked, her voice enriched with desire and a look of seduction in her glossy eyes.

She took a step to enter his apartment only for him to obstruct her path with his arm.

He ignored her question and reiterated, "You shouldn't be here."

"Why do you have company?"

Olivia peeked over his shoulder, trying to get a better look inside his apartment.

"No but-"

"So why can't I come in?" She challenged.

"It's late."

"And a little drafty."

Olivia pulled the flaps of her robe closer to her body, conveying to him that she was cold.

He knew he'd regret it later, but he didn't want to think that far ahead. That lack of thinking was what got him into trouble in the past. He was trying his very best not to let history keep repeating itself. He wanted to break that wash, rinse, repeat cycle and do better - be better. He already knew better, he was just obstinate.

With a deep sigh he dropped his arm and moved to the side, opening the door wider to give her access into his place of residence. Olivia smiled victoriously as she walked through the threshold. She knew she'd get her way. She always did even if it took some convincing. Fitz closed the door behind her. Being the good host he was, even to unwanted guests, he offered:

"Can I get you something to eat or drink?"

"We both know I didn't come all the way over here for that."

"A simple 'no thanks' would have sufficed." He retorted.

She disregarded his sarcastic remark and walked around his pad, touching this and tankering with that as she spoke.

"I've been calling you." She said casually.

Fitz folded his arms over his chest. So that was what they were doing. He was prepared for the heated "discussion" he was sure would ensue.

"I know."

"And texting you." She added.

"I know that too."

Olivia put down the framed picture she'd been holding of Fitz and a young boy who vaguely resembled him. She'd never seen this picture before. She wondered if the kid was his son she wasn't aware existed. Of course she'd never come out and ask him about the boy's identity. That was also against the rules...talking about their personal lives. Again, she was the one who established that rule. Fitz hated it because he was desperate to know Olivia on an intimate level that went way beyond meaningless sex. He wanted to get to know the real Olivia Pope not _the_ formidable Olivia Pope the rest of the world got to see.

"Why didn't you answer your phone? Were you with a woman?"

"Does it matter?" Fitz deflected her questions with one of his own.

"No but you could've at least texted me back."

"Why would I do that? You're not my girlfriend. I don't have to check in with you." He asserted.

Fitz was quickly growing annoyed. Her hot and cold attitude was getting real old, real fast. The ache that frequented in his head was back due to the severe whiplash Olivia gave him with her unceasing mood swings.

"Really? You're really gonna be that petty?"

Fitz nodded.

"Wow, okay."

"How am I supposed to be, Olivia? One minute you're all over me and in the next you're dismissing me like I'm your damn servant. You say we're not allowed to talk about personal matters yet you've been blowing up my phone for the past two hours, showing up at my apartment unannounced, and giving me the third degree all for what...sex? You're a very beautiful woman, there is no doubt in my mind you could get any man you want to sleep with you. You could go just about anywhere to get laid - a club, a bar, a restaurant, your ex-husband's house…" She narrowed her eyes at him mentioning her ex. That was low. "...but instead you show up here asking me all these goddamn questions. Why is that? Is my dick game really that strong?"

"You know what, screw you, Fitz. You were right, I shouldn't be here and now I'm leaving so you can fuck yourself."

Olivia shoved passed him, stomping to the door. Fitz followed her. He wasn't going to let her leave that easily. As soon as she opened the door, he pushed it closed with powerful force.

"Move!" She demanded, twisting and turning the door knob, trying to pull the door back open.

It didn't budge because Fitz's large hand was still pressed against it.

"No we're gonna talk about this, Olivia whether you want to or no-"

Before Fitz could finish his sentence, Olivia's hand came in contact with his side of his face, stunning him into silence. Her action was a bold one that made Fitz's eyes glare, nose flare, and jaw clench. Angry wasn't the word to describe how he felt. He was fucking pissed. No she did not just have the audacity to strike him. He wanted to retaliate. His palms were itching to slap her back, but he was taught to never raise his hand to a woman no matter how much she deserved it. He had a mother and sister he loved dearly and wouldn't hesitate to kill any man who dared put his hands on either one of them.

Instead of hitting her, he came up with another way to exact revenge on her. He was going to regret this later along with letting her in in the first place, but again he was a work in progress. She wanted to fuck then fuck they shall.

Without a word, Fitz spun her around so she was facing the door. He roughly pushed up her robe and gown, exposing the sexy scrap of lace that did nothing to cover her perfectly molded ass. His right hand pushed her panties to the side while his left worked on freeing his manhood. It sprang out of it confinements. He spat on his fingers and used them to lubricate the tip of his penis. He guided his stiff cock into her heat.

"Mmm Fitz…" She moaned.

"Shut up." He snarled in her ear.

He gripped her tiny waist and proceeded to jackhammer into her pussy with his drill. There were no emotions...maybe anger and frustration, no foreplay, no sloppy kisses exchanged, nothing. What they were doing was pure raw fucking. This was exactly what Olivia wanted. That was the reason she was over there. She said so herself.

It didn't take either of them long to get off. Fitz didn't bother trying to soothe her like he usually attempted to do after they had intercourse. He didn't wrap his arms around her, kissing her neck, trying to cajole her into spending the night with him, getting upset when she refused. Instead he pulled his boxers and shorts back up and left Olivia to clean herself up in private. She didn't need him to show her where the bathroom was since she'd been to his apartment numerous times. She knew her way around the place because he'd taken her on just about every surface in every room.

While Olivia got cleaned up in the bathroom, Fitz was gulping a full glass of filtered tap water in his kitchen. He swallowed the last drop and sighed, now feeling somewhat refreshed. That, however, didn't give him the strength he needed to face Olivia. In all honesty, he didn't want to nor was he ready to. He refilled his cup with the same choice of beverage before he headed to his bedroom, closing and locking the door behind him.

Minutes later, Olivia reluctantly exited the bathroom. She didn't want to have another confrontation with Fitz, but she couldn't stay locked in his bathroom forever. She had to get home and unfortunately there was only one way out. She tiptoed down the hall in the opposite direction of his bedroom and was relieved to see he was nowhere in sight. She took her chance and escaped before he reappeared.

Fitz waited until he heard the front door close before he left his room. He did a lap around his apartment to make sure Olivia had really left. He expelled a breath he had no idea he'd been holding in. He walked over to the door Olivia walked out of only minutes ago and locked it. He then flicked all of the lights off and went to the bathroom to empty his bladder.

As he washed his hands, he stared at his reflection in the mirror. He had sobered up. The ire he used as an anesthetic to numb his conscience had worn off. The guilt he figured he would feel after treating Olivia like a whore was finally setting in. Olivia didn't deserve such treatment. She just made him so mad. The man looking back at him had his same face, same eyes, same nose, same hair, same everything, but it wasn't him. Fitz didn't recognize that guy - that monster. What had Olivia done to him? She casted her spell on him and this was the result of her witchcraft. She was the only person who could bring out this ugly side of him. Not even Mellie or the long list of other crazy women he'd been with could extract such a reaction from him and tried his patience they did. Fitz was letting Olivia control him and his life. This had to stop. He couldn't take much more of it.

Fitz turned the water off and dried his hands on the gray hand towel hanging from the ring mounted on the wall next to the sink. He then made his way back to his room. He wanted to resume sleeping, but knew that wasn't going to happen right away, not after what had just transpired. He retrieved his phone from its resting place on his nightstand and requested to FaceTime his sister who resided in Santa Barbara, California. It had just turned nine where she was so he knew it wasn't too late to call her. Times like now were when he missed her the most. She always knew what to say and do to make him feel better. They were still very close despite living on different coasts. She was still his person. On the fourth ring, she answered. A wide grin split his face as soon as he saw hers.

"Hey Tommy."

Fitz groaned. His smile instantly turned into a slight frown. He hated that nickname just as much as he hated her calling him it. She was the only person he'd let get away with it though.

"Hey K-bear." He smirked.

She too had a nickname she despised and that was it.

"Fitzgerald, don't make me hop on a plane and fly all the way across the country just to beat your pale ass 'cause I'll do it." She threatened.

"No you won't." Fitz sang, teasing her in his annoying little brother voice.

"Not right now of course but as soon as Dean is completely healthy you can expect to see me in Washington with a fresh can of whoop ass for you."

Fitz laughed. He knew he could count on his sister to take away his worries if only for the moment.

"So what are you doing up so late? It's what...midnight over there, right? What you'd just get in? Karen asked.

"Uh yeah...I was um...I was just about to go to sleep and wanted to call you and wish you a goodnight before I retired." Fitz mostly fibbed.

Karen shook her head. She knew him better than anyone which meant she knew when he was lying. Something or _someone_ had to give.

"Uh uh, no. I'm not buying that. You forget how well I know you, Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the Third. Something's going on with you. Spill."

"Kar, I'm fine...really. I'm just a little stressed out over this case we're handling at work. It isn't exactly an easy one." He completely lied.

Karen still didn't believe him, but she knew not to push him. When he was ready, he'd let her in. She took a different route. The route that always kept her close to her only sibling. The route Fitz was never afraid to venture on. The two of them built trust and a deep bond on that route. That route was support.

"You wanna talk about it?"

Fitz gave her a gentle smile.

"You know I can't. Client confidentiality."

"I know, I know. I just want you to be okay. I wish I could visit you and maybe understand why you moved to that state infested with dirty corrupt politicians instead of staying in sunny California."

Fitz chuckled and shook his head.

"You have nothing to worry about. I know I've said that a million times before when I was involved in a lot horrible situations but I mean it this time. I really do miss you though and my little man. How is he by the way?"

Karen smiled brightly, something Fitz hadn't seen her do since she found out her six year old son, Dean, was diagnosed with Leukemia.

"He's doing a lot better than he was before. You should see him now. He looks so healthy and strong, no longer pale and fragile. I'm telling you, Fitz, he looks so much different. I bet if you saw him you wouldn't even recognize him."

She spoke animatedly. Her young son was getting better. She had a lot to be thankful for and happy about. She looked how she sounded...uplifted.

"I'm happy to hear Din Din's feeling better. I'm gonna have to make arrangements to visit you guys again soon."

"You don't know how happy Dean will be to see his Uncle Tom Tom. He loves you so much."

Fitz smiled at her warm words. His sister and kid nephew were all he had left. His mother passed away some years back. They didn't associate with their sperm donor, Fitz especially. Fitz and Dean were also all Karen had left. Her ex-husband left her after they learned of their son's illness. He blamed her for giving birth to a "defective" child as he put it.

"Well…" Fitz started. "...I'm gonna let you go. I'm starting to feel the effects of my long day. "I'll call you tomorrow." He promised.

He fake a yawn, hoping she'd fall for his act.

"Okay, get some rest. I love you, Tommy."

"I love you too sis. Goodnight."

Just as he was about to hit the end button, Karen's voice stopped him.

"Oh Tommy, real quick before you go-"

"What's up, Kar?"

"You're a terrible actor. Don't quit your day. Love you, bye!"

And with that she quickly hung up on him before he could respond. Fitz shook his head at her jest. His sister was truly something else. Olivia was his tornado and Karen was a whole nother natural disaster he couldn't begin to describe. Karen did what he expected her to. She cheered him up. Now it was time to call his best friend, Leo Bergen. Leo was a corporate lawyer like Fitz used to be. They were childhood friends and still remained as adults. He too was a California native and still lived in the Golden State.

Leo missed Fitz's first call, but Fitz was able to get through to him on the second. "Hey, what's up buddy?" He was out of breath.

Fitz's face scrunched. He knew Leo wasn't the type to exercise and the only kind of running he did was when an angry husband was chasing him after catching him banging his wife. As far as Fitz could tell, neither of those things were occurring. That only meant one other thing.

"Are you doing what I think you're doing." Fitz asked, afraid of the answer he was about to receive.

"Nah, I just finished. Sorry I missed your call the first time, I was in the middle of bust-"

Fitz quickly cut him off, "I got it. I don't need you to put that visual in my head."

Leo chuckled at his friend's expense. Fitz was glad their call wasn't video.

"I need to talk to you." He continued.

"Uh oh, that doesn't good. About Olivia I presume."

Leo was the only person who knew about Fitz and Olivia's secret whatchamacallit. Olivia may had been able to keep her feelings bottled up, but he couldn't. They weren't programmed the same way.

"Yea-"

Fitz started to say when he was rudely interrupted by an equally rude high pitched female voice on Leo's end. God her voice was annoying. Like nails on a chalkboard annoying. Leo sure knew how to pick 'em.

"Who the fuck's Olivia?" He heard her not so politely ask.

"Oh ya know, she's a friend of mind your damn business. I don't think you know her." He answered sarcastically.

Fitz hollered in laughter. Leo never failed to keep him entertained. He listened to their entire exchanged, amused.

"You know what, fuck you and your puny dick!" She shouted.

Leo was unbothered.

"Something you literally just got done doing five seconds ago." He threw back at her.

She was arguing with a lawyer and a good one at that. She wasn't going to win. She knew that and as a woman nothing was more frustrating than a guy being the victor in a disagreement. She collected her belongings, leaving him with a, "I hope you catch something and your shrimp dick falls off!", before storming out of his house, slamming the door behind her.

"Bye! Don't let the door hit your flat ass on the way out." Leo called out to her. He turned his attention back to Fitz. "I'm gonna marry her one day."

"Ha! That marriage won't last very long."

"Yeah, you're probably right. When I was hitting it from the back it felt like I was humping drywall. I couldn't deal with that for a lifetime...anyway sorry you had to hear that. Now what were we talking about before my future ex-wife interrupted us?"

"Olivia." Fitz reminded him to which he responded with a head nod and...

"Ah right, your ridiculously hot boss who you're having sexual rendezvous with."

"I don't know why I told you that."

"I'm your best friend. It's a requirement. You can't not tell me stuff like this. That's the point of having a best friend. If not me then who will you turn to to unload all of your problems on?"

"A therapist. Someone who's a professional and will give me sound advice."

"True but where's the fun in that?"

It seemed like all of Fitz's guy friends were living their best lives as single men while he was fretting over a woman who wasn't even his. Why was he the only one constantly being put in predicaments and suffering the consequences while Leo, Marcus, and Harrison did the same things he'd done and sustained no retribution?

"What's going on now between you two? Did you finally get promoted from her boy toy to her boyfriend?"

"I honestly don't know where Olivia and I stand right now, not after what happened tonight."

"What happened tonight?"

"I fucked her."

There was a brief pause in conversation. Leo finally spoke up after thirty seconds passed because it was clear Fitz wasn't going to elaborate without some prodding.

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Because it was."

Leo was confused. How could sex with an extremely attractive woman be a bad thing? Unless the sex was unsatisfactory, but he already knew that wasn't the case.

"I'm not following. You're gonna have to explain."

Fitz blew out a breath.

"Olivia and I had sex earlier today at the office. Immediately after, Olivia acted like classic Olivia. Ya know - cold, distant, guarded-"

"Callous, emotionally unresponsive..." Leo finished for him.

"Then she had the nerve to ask me if I was going over her place as I was about to go home. I told her it was unlikely because I was going out for drinks with the guys. She was hitting me up the whole time I was out. I didn't take any of her calls or respond to any of her texts. I guess she thought I took a woman home because she showed up here in her lingerie. I called her out about her behavior and she slapped me when she tried to run and I wouldn't let her. Then I took her against my door out of anger." Fitz summarized his night.

"Damn. What happened after that? Did you guys talk?"

Fitz gave him the shortened version.

"No, I went to my room and she left."

"You and her need to talk." Leo told him what he already knew.

"I don't have anything to say to her except maybe 'I'm sorry' but that's it. We both made it loud and clear what we want and they're obviously not the same things. There's nothing more to talk about."

"If that's how you feel I won't tell you you're wrong but I will say this...you cannot continue to allow that woman to treat you like an over glorified gigolo. Let her go. She's no good for you. She's draining the life out of you like some sex-crazed vampire. Whatever you guys got going on started off great and fun but things have gotten much more complicated and neither of you signed up for this. Heed my advice and get out while you still can. Do not allow yourself to fall deeper for her any more than you've already have. Save yourself from having to pick up the pieces of the broken heart you will endure if you continue sleeping with her. She's not interested in being in a committed relationship like you are. You want something serious and she just wants someone to get her through the night. Get out and move on."

"That's easier said than done." Fitz muttered stubbornly. "I can't."

"Why can't you?" Leo probed.

Fitz was becoming flustered. He struggled to verbalize his feelings.

"Because I-it's not that simple."

"Then simplify it for me."

Leo's goading caused Fitz to snap.

"I love her okay?!" He yelled into the phone. "I love her. There. I said it. Is that simple enough for you? I love her. I'm in love with her. She's the love of my life. I'm already in too deep. You don't think I've tried to undo what she's done to me? I have. I've tried to resist her. I've tried to ignore her. I've tried to have sex with her without feeling anything other than lust. I've tried everything and nothing's worked. I don't think there's anything I can do to make myself fall out of her love with her. I should've let her go when I had the chance but I waited too long and now I'm stuck." He confessed weakly.

Leo gave Fitz a moment to calm down. He didn't mean to rile him up, but he needed to hear the truth and get out the emotions he'd been trying his hardest to suppress.

"I know I joke around a lot but I don't when I know someone's in peril especially when that someone is my best friend. You're in danger, Fitz. Olivia is dangerous and capable of hurting you. Look what she's done to you already. The amount of power she possesses over you is absurd and unhealthy. I can't sit back and bite my tongue while you let her destroy you...I refuse. I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life but you don't exactly have the best record in good decision making. Maybe this time you'll listen to me."

Fitz didn't say anything. He remained mute as he pondered Leo's words. He knew Leo was only looking out for him. He appreciated the tough love. He didn't like it, but was definitely appreciative to have a friend like Leo who could tell him when he was wrong and didn't have a problem checking him when he needed it.

"I...you're right. It's not easy to hear nor is it easy to admit but it wouldn't be the truth if it was." Fitz conceded followed by a tired sigh. "Look I'm gonna call it a night. Thanks for the advice. I'll talk to you later."

They knew this conversation was far from over, but that was enough for tonight. It was evident in Fitz's voice that he was weary physically, mentally, and especially emotionally.

"Okay, goodnight."

"Night."

The call was disconnected. Fitz didn't even attempt to go back to sleep that night. He had a lot to think about and decisions to make and his mind wasn't going to let him rest until he figured them out.

* * *

Across town, Olivia was at least making an effort to fall asleep. Going over Fitz's place wore her out in more ways than one. Her eyes slowly drifted shut as her body was finally succumbing to its exhaustion. Too bad the moment left as fast it came thanks to her cellphone's ringtone resounding through the room.

"Ahhhhh!" She groaned in exasperation before reaching over and snatching the device off of her bedside table where it had been previously charging.

"What?" She answered, not bothering to see who was calling her first.

Olivia listened to a feminine voice frantically speak. She shot up in bed, grabbing a notepad and pen she kept in the drawer of her bedside table.

"Take a deep breath and say that one more time."

The woman obliged. As she spoke more audibly, Olivia scribbled down the information being rattled off to her.

* * *

Abby slapped a photograph of a distinguished looking religious African American man who appeared to be in his late sixties, on one of the frosted angled windows in the conference room of OPA. All of the gladiators were present at the meeting except Olivia and David. All nine of them looked how they felt...sleep deprived.

"The right Reverend Marvin Drake, sixty-eight year old civil rights' leader, gay marriage crusader - our nation's pastor." She informed the rest of the group while they sifted through pictures of the reverend sprawled out on the table they were sitting around.

Harrison opted to stand, pacing back and forth. He didn't trust himself. He was afraid he'd fall asleep if he sat in one of the comfortable chairs.

"Everyone knows who Pastor Drake is." He said, wanting to speed this process along so he could go back home to his warm bed and resume catching z's.

Abby didn't let his grumpiness deter her from doing her job. She stuck more pictures up on the cracked window.

"Well his wife doesn't know where he is. He's missing and he's supposed to be at the National Prayer Breakfast with the President and the important half of Congress in nine hours."

"He's got enemies." Heck stated.

"Since he officiated that mass gay marriage in the nationals mall last spring, he'd had over a hundred death threats." Angela piggybacked off of Huck.

"So much for turning the other cheek." Fitz grumbled.

He wasn't happy to be called into the office during the middle of the night either, even though he hadn't been sleeping when he got the call. On the bright side, at least he didn't have to see Olivia right now since she was at the missing pastor's house, talking to his wife who was the woman that called her earlier.

* * *

"He's always home by nine. He pours his sherry, reads a verse or two, asleep by ten, like clockwork. I know it hasn't been long enough to call the police and I know what a news story it'll be if I do but I'm telling you, Olivia, something has happened to him. I can feel it." Nancy Drake, Pastor Drake's wife, briefed Olivia as she paced the floor.

Olivia stood still, retaining the information she was being told. She realized Nancy stopped talking and used the moment of silence to reassure the older refined woman.

"Nancy, I understand the position you and your family are in and although I can't guarantee you we'll find your husband, I can assure you my team and I will do everything in our power to."

Nancy stuck out her hand. Olivia took it and they shook hands.

"Thank you so much."

Olivia gave her a sympathetic smile.

"You're welcome."

They retracted their hands simultaneously. Nancy saw Olivia to the door. It was the least she could do for the time being.

"I'll be in touch."

Olivia said before she left to head over to the office.

* * *

 **Back at OPA**

Fitz lowered his phone from his ear as he entered Huck's office.

"No luck at the shelter."

Angela was hot on his heels.

"No sign of him at his church or office."

Huck was typing furiously on his computer.

"Nothing on the police scanners but at eight fourteen, he withdrew five hundred dollars from an ATM on the corner of Connecticut and K street. Something called Camelot."

"What's nearby?" Fitz asked.

"Strip club." Marcus and Harrison responded at the same time as they joined the trio.

Fitz, Huck, and Angela shot them the same look.

"What?" They asked.

Huck shook his head and turned back to his computer screen.

"What's the Scorpion Room?"

"Gay bar." Angela said.

At this point, the other four (Abby, Stephen, Quinn, and Charlie) were also in the room gathered around Huck's computer.

"The Adams Morgan hotel is across the street." Stephen pointed out.

Abby's phone buzzed. She checked it to see she had a text from Olivia.

 **Liv: I'll be there in 5.**

"Liv said she'll be here in five minutes." She told the group.

"Tell her to reroute to the hotel. We'll meet her there." Fitz told her as they all filed out of the office.

* * *

Olivia strode down the hallway on the floor Pastor Drake's room was supposedly located. Her gladiators marched behind her.

"Married dude pays for a hotel room in cash, nine times out of ten, he's getting it in with a hooker." Harrison said.

"Let's get all the facts before we jump to conclusions, people."

Olivia knocked on the door before she entered, waiting for a response.

"Pastor Drake, are you in there?"

She put her ear to the door and heard what sounded like muffled screams. She nodded to Huck to use his secret spy device thingy in order to get into the room. It took him less than a second to coerce the door open. Olivia stepped into the room and gasped at the sight before her. The very large unconscious pastor was sprawled out on top of a handcuffed woman who was struggling to get from underneath his...girth.

"Oh God."

The others had different reactions that ranged from mortified to oddly amused, however, they all wore the same shocked expressions on their faces.

"Okay, we really shouldn't."

"This is so wrong."

Angela and Harrison turned to leave. They were the two who were grossed out the most.

"Wait. Charlie?"

Charlie approached the bed and examined Pastor Drake's body.

"Cold, no pulse probably been dead a couple of hours." He reported.

Abby shrugged and said in a lighthearted tone, "Well we found him."

Harrison gave her a weird look. Fitz and Marcus, being the youngest in the room, snickered. Olivia glared at them and they immediately straightened up.

"Guys."

Olivia motioned for all of the guys in the room, except the one lying face down dead on the identified woman, to rescue the poor lady being smothered.

It was a group effort and a lot of effort it took, but the guys were able to uncuff the woman and roll Pastor Drake's corpse off of her. The pastor was now laying on his back, spread eagle.

"I-I-I-I have to go. I-I-I really have to go. I can't-" The grief stricken and very shaken up woman stuttered disconcerted.

"What's your name?"

"Anna."

"Listen to me, Anna, you're in shock. You need to sit down, drink some water, and relax for a minute."

Anna nodded and accepted the fresh cup of cold water Quinn handed to her and sat down in the plush chair.

Olivia's team huddled around her as she spoke to them in a low tone so Anna wouldn't be able to hear her what she was saying, not that she was listening in her now catatonic stupor.

"We need to get him out of here." She told them.

There were some protests. Stephen was the first to object.

"Really? We shouldn't maybe get rid of the lady of the night and then call the cops?"

"Marvin Drake is the most respected religious leader in our country." Fitz surprisingly sided with Olivia though they refused to look at each other or be near one another.

Harrison was with Stephen.

"He was naked and dead on top of a handcuffed hooker. I think he just lost the title."

"We took this case. We're doing this. That's final. Pastor Drake wasn't just some guy. He was the nation's pastor. We call the cops and then what happens? A big investigation will be conducted which will lead to an even bigger scandal. Imagine how messy that'll be. This way is much easier. It prevents the truth from being revealed to the public and tarnishing the good pastor's name. Whoever doesn't like it can leave now and use the rest of the day searching for a new job." Olivia admonished.

None of them dared to move, terrified of what would happen if they did.

"No one? Good. Now let's get back to work. Harrison, Anna needs to stay quiet. Pay her whatever it takes. Charlie, Quinn, you two find the nearest route to the freight elevator. Huck, what are you gonna need to take care of this?"

Removing his jacket, "Uh...latex gloves, a twenty-four inch bone saw, a skull chisel, an industrial meat cleaver, three dozen heavy-duty trash bags, ten bath towels, a thirty foot roll of plastic wrap, and two black coffees, extra tall. It's gonna be a long day."

His eyes gleamed with eagerness.

"I want you to move him, not dispose of him."

Huck's face fell in disappointment.

"Oh...well in that case I'll need uh...six king size sheets and lots of ice."

* * *

Harrison personally escorted Anna downstairs where a taxi cab was waiting for her right outside the hotel's doors. He pulled a contract out of the inside of his coat pocket.

"Standard nondisclosure. Sign, tell me whatever you're supposed to make for the night so I can add a few grand on top. Hm?" He held out the papers and she just stared at them. He sighed. "Look they're not gonna hand over the cash-"

"I don't want your money." She replied, hurt that he would think so little of her, especially since he didn't know.

She got in the cab and it drove off.

* * *

 **Pastor Drake's House**

Pastor Drake was now in his own bed, wearing his pajamas thanks to Huck, Quinn, and Charlie. They had just finished up when Olivia, Abby, and Nancy walked into the room.

"He's ready." Huck said.

Nancy slowly walked over to her late husband and stroked his face. She then turned to Olivia and half of her team.

"Thank you, thank you so much for bringing him home."

"I'm sorry, Nancy, but it's time."

Nancy nodded and spoke nervously, "Um I put my nightgown on. I-I-"

Olivia helped her. "You put your nightgown on and you get into bed. Toss around a little, then you get up and call nine one-one. He was asleep when you came in and dead when you woke up. That's all you know."

"That's all I know. Yes."

Olivia grabbed her hands and squeezed them, almost as if she was transferring her confidence into the other woman.

"You'll do great. Talk to you soon."

She let go of Nancy's hands and she, along with the others, left Nancy to put the plan into execution.

Olivia's phone rang. It was Harrison. She answered, skipping pleasantries.

"We just had to carry three hundred pounds of pastor up a flight of stairs and put him to bed. Where are you?"

"Alexandria. She wouldn't sign the nondisclosure agreement. She wouldn't take the cash. Liv, I don't think she's a hooker."

"She's the pastor's mistress." Olivia concluded. Abby's mouth dropped and smile spread across her face. This case just got more interesting. "Meet us back at the office."

* * *

 **OPA**

They were back in the conference room for yet another meeting. Pastor Drake's mistress was the main focus of this one.

"Anna Gordon, thirty-eight, works as a lawyer at the national tolerance foundation." Abby announced.

"So she's a professional civil rights activist." Olivia stated.

"And a hate group educator and a regular churchgoer, and in her spare time, she runs a canned food drive a women's shelter." Abby informed her.

"So she's a saint." Marcus deduced.

"Well, a saint who was sleeping with a married man. A saint who enjoys being handcuffed to a bed just like Mother Teresa."

"Maybe she didn't know he was married." Quinn thought out loud.

Abby made it well known she didn't feel sorry for Anna.

She scoffed incredulously, "She didn't know he was married?"

"The pastor's cell phone has calls to Anna going back fifteen years. E-mails, they met in hotel rooms, secret weekends."

Huck interjected just to be ignored.

"Fifteen years? Fifteen years? She probably thought he was gonna leave his wife. They never leave their wives. What was she thinking?"

"Abby, we don't-"

She cut Olivia off.

"Not judging, just saying."

"Think she called The Enquirer for a payday?" Stephen asked to no one in particular.

"She could've had a payday a long time ago. She loved him and that means she cares how all this plays out. Abby and Angela, you two make the funeral arrangements. Make sure it goes off without a hitch. Harrison, you're on cleanup."

"How squeaky clean we need to be?"

"Everyone in the city who knows about the affair - make sure they don't breathe a word about it."

"Got it."

"Stephen, Fitz, you guys go see Anna and find out exactly what she wants. Marcus, you and I are going to check up on Nancy. You three (Quinn, Huck, and Charlie), keep digging for more information."

They dispersed to carry out their duties.

* * *

"We had Christmas together every year, with presents and a tree. Every year, on December twenty-eighth when Nancy went to the cape to see her sister, it was Christmas to us anyway." Anna said.

She was sitting on a sofa across from the one Stephen and Fitz were sitting on.

Stephen pulled the same contract out that Harrison presented to her earlier.

"I have a nondisclosure agreement. I need you to sign it. So what do you need from us to make that happen?"

"Six million. She has it."

"She does have it but despite fifteen years of not-quite Christmas, you're still just a mistress with a pair of divorces under her belt. You have circumstantial evidence of an affair that's worth a few hundred thousand dollars. You have nowhere near six million dollars worth of leverage."

That's what they thought. Anna was about to prove them very wrong.

"Vincent!" She called out.

A little boy, maybe five, rounded the corner with a pout on his face. The resemblances between him and the late Pastor Drake were uncanny.

"Mommy, I can't find my magic cards." He whined.

Stephen and Fitz's jaws dropped and eyes nearly bulged out of their heads.

"Hey baby, come on over here."

The little boy ran into his mother's arms and stared at the two gentlemen sitting across from them with a polite smile plastered on his face.

"He is the spitting image of his father, isn't he? I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

"Shit." Fitz cursed underneath his breath.

"Uhhh can you excuse me for a moment please? I just have to make a quick phone call."

Stephen got up and walked into the hallway to call Olivia.

"How's it going over there?"

"Uh Liv, we have a problem."

"What kind of problem?"

Stephen glanced over his shoulder to observe the boy.

"A three foot, six inch problem."

Stephen didn't have to say anything more. Olivia caught his drift.

"Damn it."

* * *

 **OPA**

The associates were slumped in their chairs. They had finally burnt out after running solely on fumes for the past two days. Two nonstop stressful days of commuting back and forth, negotiating, processing, breaking the law, planning, and handling. They were glad it was all finally over. The case had been solved and now it was closed.

The last thing on their to-do list was to watch how it all played out which they were currently doing. Pastor Drake's funeral was being televised live on three major networks. Abby had flipped to one of the channels showing the service. At the moment, President Francisco Vargas was giving the eulogy.

"Damn."

Marcus was thoroughly impressed with the amazing work Abby and Angela did coordinating Pastor Drake's funeral.

"We give great funerals." Abby bragged.

"Yes we do."

She and Angela hi-fived. Girls rule.

They watched the rest of the funeral until it was over. Harrison stood up and stretched his tired limbs.

"Alright, I'm gonna get out of here. I'm beat."

"I'm with you. You guys have a goodnight." Marcus seconded and followed Harrison to the elevator.

Holding hands, the lovebirds Charlie and Quinn were right behind them. One by one they left. Fitz and Angela were the only two remaining. Angela found Fitz in his office, gathering up his belongings.

"Hey, I'm about to head out." She told him.

"So am I. I'll walk you out."

He swiped his keys off his desk and exited his office, shutting the door behind him. They locked up and rode the elevator together down to the lobby. Being the gentleman he was, Fitz walked Angela to her car. She unlocked it and he opened the driver side door for her. Angela faced Fitz. She was wringing her hands, a habit of hers she did when she was anxious.

"I-uh...I'm about to grab a quick bite to eat, would you like to join me?"

Fitz noticed her fidgeting hands and took them into his much larger ones. He looked down at their joined hands as did Angela. He liked the contrast between their skin tones. She did too.

"Ang, I would love to but can I take a rain check? I have something to do tonight."

"Oh...uh...yeah sure." She replied, offering him a sad yet brave smile.

Fitz felt like an ass for turning her down, but he really did have something he had to do tonight. Still, he knew he had to make it up to her. He would feel bad if he didn't. An idea popped into his head.

"Maybe we can go out tomorrow night. We'll go anywhere you want and do whatever you want. How does that sound? Would that work for you?"

Angela's frown was replaced with a smile. The light that had dimmed in her eyes was now back, shining brighter than ever.

"Of course!"

Fitz flashed her his patented lopsided grin.

"Great, it's a date."

Angela threw her arms around his neck, surprising him. Fitz hugged her back, chuckling at her sudden outburst. He had no clue how happy he made her. She waited so long to go out with him. She pictured this moment in her head since the first time she laid eyes on him. That was almost three years ago. It took her almost three years to gain enough courage to ask him out. They pulled away from each other.

"It's a date." Angela repeated, still beaming.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

Fitz placed a gentle kiss on her cheek before assisting her into her vehicle and hopping into his. He reached his destination fifteen minutes later. Olivia's apartment building. It was nine something at night. She should've been home already from the funeral, she attended. He knew this was her last night alone before her ex dropped her kids off to her for the week.

He got out of his car and made his way up to her apartment. Fitz knocked on her door and waited. He heard some shuffling on the other side of the door before it opened a minute later. Inside, Olivia was happy to see him there. He saved her from making a trip and embarrassment. However, she didn't let that show on the outside. She had a look of irritation on her face. Olivia crossed her arms.

"What are you doing here?" She asked with an attitude.

Fitz didn't let it bother him because if he did, that would only cause more problems between them - problems they definitely did not need.

"I stopped by to tell you I'm sorry for my behavior the other night. You didn't deserve to be treated like that, like you were some whore. For that I am truly sorry. I would've called but I doubt you'd answer plus I wanted to be a man and apologize to you in person. Do you forgive me?"

Olivia thought long and hard about her answer. Yes, she was still a little mad at him, but not about the sex. She actually enjoyed the roughness. She was mad at him for being immature and trying to force something that wasn't meant to be. She wanted to be done with him for good. She wanted easy and simple. She wanted a reliable guy on standby when she needed to be turned out. Fitz used to be that guy and Forrest the most part still was, but he wasn't the same and lately Olivia had seriously been considering changing that. It didn't help that he knew how to properly the lay the pipe. Finding a man who could do that consistently like Fitz, was not easy. She lucked out with him and frankly didn't want to lose him as a sexual partner despite being a constant pain in her ass. She made her decision.

"Not until you get in here and show me just how sorry you are."

For the first time since his no-strings-attached relationship with Olivia began, his mind and heart weren't at odds. Both were telling him to do the same thing. Leave. It was his body that now needed to be convinced because it had intentions and leaving wasn't one of them.

 **Author's Note: I'm gonna stop here. First off, I would like to thank you guys for reading, leaving reviews, and following this ff. I was genuinely surprised by how many of you liked the first chapter. You all inspired me to continue and I hope I was able to deliver this chapter as well.**

 **Okay back to the story...I know a lot of you wanted Fitz to drop Olivia. I won't give away any spoilers but I will say this, Fitz has feelings for Olivia. That's been made clear, so it's understandable that he struggles to resist her. He wants to please her because he's afraid of losing her. He'll take her anyway he can get her, HOWEVER, he's through with being hurt, played, and taken advantage of. Which leads to this question...what do you guys think happens next? Do you think Fitz goes into Olivia's apartment (if he does what do you think'll happen) or do you think he leaves? Also, how do you feel about Angela being his potential love interest or at least a little competition to Olivia?**

 **I'm not sure if anyone noticed David has yet to make an appearance. That's because I realized I used way too many characters and I'm gonna start writing them off in different ways similar to how they were in the show. No, David doesn't die. If you want, I can just tell you what happens to him or I can write a small scene explaining what happens to him. You're call.**

 **Anyway, thanks again for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Until next time!**


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